


little red riding hood

by myriadus



Series: fairy tales [1]
Category: The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood, M/M, Vampires, and they save each other's lives, basically aleks is a vampire and james is not, this is literally just a creative outlet series i don't know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 03:54:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14393745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myriadus/pseuds/myriadus
Summary: Aleks saves a guy's life, and then that guy saves Aleks' life in return.





	little red riding hood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [personalized_radio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/personalized_radio/gifts).



> i know what a terrible idea it is to start a new series in the middle of searchlights but also: i do what i want and this is more of a "post whenever i want" kind of deal with oneshots i post on my own whim rather than formulating any kind of actual fucking plot, so, YEAH. here it is. vampire!aleks and his human bf james, this is how they meet 
> 
> thanks hannah for the inspiration from our discord, surprise, GOD i love writing my own vampire lore with undertones of actual lore
> 
> also hey if you can guess some of the references to other vampire lore in here, YOU WIN! also [here's my tumblr](http://myriadus.tumblr.com) come have fun even though i'm supposed to be on hiatus.

Aleks gets ambushed in the dark alley between the convenience store where he buys his cigs and some rundown theater where there’s all sorts of shit like drag shows and underground punk concerts.

At first he thinks he’s getting mugged, which is, you know, _hilarious,_ but then he sees red eyes and flashes of fangs as all of them grab at him and he panics, just a little, even as he starts to fight them all off. It’s not every day he runs into a vampire gang, because he tends to stay as far away as possible from that lot as possible. There are five of them, and they grab him by the collar and beat on him instantly. But Aleksandr Marchant is no bitch, and he’ll go down fighting if it means taking at least one of them down with him.

He gets the shit kicked out of him, naturally, because he’s only one guy, but he gives it his best chance until they get the drop on him, one holding him around the neck and the other two with their arms wrapped tight around his armpits, keeping him locked solidly in place. He snarls and kicks, until the scent hits his nose. Fear.

They’ve got another guy, some poor fuck in a red hoodie and Aleks can hear his heart thumping desperately in his chest, a furious _tmp-tmp-tmp_ of fear that’s so loud in his ears that it damn near drowns everything out. Two of them are holding him up against the red bricks while the other three grab at Aleks, and he’s just - just a mess of black curls and terrified eyes, watching as Aleks snarls and tries to sink his teeth into the guy trying to punch him in the stomach.

 _Little Red Riding Hood,_ he thinks stupidly, _this fucking town’s gonna eat you alive._

“Hey, _Sasha_ ,” one of them says, and Aleks can recognize the voice even if he can’t put a name to it. “How’s the sober life going?”

And, well, the answer to that is that it sucks. He’s lucky he made a friend in Gavin Free, who acts like an idiot but has a pretty good system going on with the bigger guys than them. Working as an orderly in a hospital is pretty shitty, but he can get access to blood in small doses, and it’s better than going out and killing people, people with loving families and warm homes.

Aleks likes to think he’s better just for that, and maybe that’s caught up to him.

“Fuck you,” he says angrily, but they shove him against the guy on the wall, who whimpers quietly but keeps his eyes open. They stare at each other, and the guy’s got such big eyes, big and warm and brown. Aleks thinks that, Jesus, they’re so full of life, they’re so - they’re so pretty, even with how scared they are, and he doesn’t want the light in them to get snuffed out.

But they press Aleks’ nose up against the soft, fuzzy underside of the guy’s jaw and Aleks just - he gets a whiff of warm blood pumping just underneath such thin skin, buzzing tenderly against his nose and his mouth, up against his lips and it’d be so _easy -_ so easy to just bite down and bleed this insignificant little man’s life, no one would know it was Aleks, no one would ever find _out,_ Gavin would chalk it up to a mishap on Aleks’ part and, regrettable though it might be, life would go on for him.

They press them up closer together and Aleks can’t help but open his mouth against the guy’s skin, press his tongue against his pulse and just… drink in the feel of it for a moment. It smells delicious, and he thinks of how warm and thick and heavy this man’s blood would taste on his tongue - not separated, sterile, dead blood that’s been drained to get pumped back into someone else, but fresh _living_ blood, something he hasn’t had in _years -_

Aleks can feel the others let go of him, delighted as he growls low and nuzzles into that warm little place where the man’s jaw meets his neck - the man makes a soft noise again, quiet and terrified. His pulse beats against Aleks’ nose, and something arranges itself in Aleks’ brain, clicks into place.

 _Better to eat you with, my dear,_ he thinks, and turns around.

It’s fast - he deals such a crushing and sudden blow to the nearest guy’s nose that he feels the crunch of it against his knuckles, the spurt of unnecessary, dead blood as he goes down howling. This is Aleks at his most simple, his most instinctual, turning around and growling wildly with all his teeth out, sharp and threatening. He stands, hunched and feral, in front of this poor guy who makes a startled noise and throws his arms up to cower. The rest let him go and converge on Aleks at the same time.

It’s a nightmare. Sure, Aleks is quicker than most, and deadlier than a lot, but it’s still five against one - four, really, because the other guy is still clutching at his nose and howling in pain and anger as it gushes blood down his front. But Aleks doesn’t _care -_ he sinks his teeth into the first throat he gets into contact with and rips iron flesh with them, takes that fucking vamp down to the ground before the rest of them ever see it coming.

Aleks is old. He’s a lot older than he looks, and his instincts are honed, if not a little on the dusty side on occasion because he’s lived such a charmed life recently. He’s old, and that means he can take down these weak fucks enough on his own with hunger burning in every joint and vein and twisting deep in his stomach, and he gets three of them before a fourth grabs him by the stomach and then sinks his teeth right into the softest space between Aleks’ neck and his shoulder.

There’s pain of course, but before anything else there’s _rage._ Aleks snarls and tries to kick out his feet, but the vamp bites down harder and Aleks is sure he hears a thick crunch. It’s going to take fucking forever to heal, and it’s going to leave a nasty scar - if he gets that far. He doesn’t know. It fucking hurts, though, and Aleks feels his legs give out a second before he hits the ground, the vamp on his back shoving his face into the gravel.

It scraps up his cheek bad and Aleks growls again, fights as hard as he can but the vamp is heavy against him, chomping at his shoulder and neck and Aleks, for one moment, really thinks this is it.

There’s a loud _twack,_ and the vamp on him lurches to the side. Aleks isn’t immediately sure what happened - he just lays there panting, struggling to sit up and destroying his nails on the ground in the process, but when he looks up he sees goddamn Little Red with his hair in his face and his cheeks burning bright and a large, bent, rusted silver pipe clenched tight in white fists as he breathes too hard.

“Oh, shit,” Aleks says through the blood in his mouth, “you fuckin’ hit him with a pipe?”

“Yeah,” the guy says, panting and nodding, “you’re - you’re fucking welcome.”

Aleks sees red and blue lights, and then just sees black.

He wakes up in darkness, in a puddle of his own blood soaking into his sheets. Aleks blinks up at the ceiling, blinks so hard that it burns, and slowly tries to sit up. It fucking hurts, real bad - his muscles are all sore, and while the bites on his neck have started to heal, they’re still scabs and pull painfully as they break apart and crack. It’s fucking disgusting and he grimaces, lifts a hand to touch it gingerly. His shirt is gone, laying in a tattered, bloody heap at the bottom of his laundry basket.

The curtains are drawn, and it really takes Aleks a second to realize what’s happened. He’s home in his bed, with no idea of how he got there, and then -

Oh, shit.

He manages to get out of the bed with minimal stumbling, though he’s stiff to hell and pretty sure that if he keeps moving he’s going to pass out. But he doesn’t remember much - remembers a terse voice asking him to _fucking move,_ someone’s hand in his pockets, warm hair in his face -

The curtains aren’t drawn in the living room like they were in his bedroom, and Aleks can’t help the hiss of shock that slips out before he backs away again. He never leaves the curtains open like that, not in his own apartment for sure, but it only takes a couple seconds of sweeping his eyes across the living room to find the culprit.

“Sorry,” Little Red says, and he sounds exhausted from the couch. “Didn’t think of that.”

Aleks pauses, stays hidden as he looks him up and down. He’s sitting cross-legged on the couch, and he’s ditched both the hoodie and his shoes, just wearing a baggy black t-shirt and his jeans, white socks with stripes on the toes. He’s pulled his hair up into a loose bun that hangs a little bit, and when he looks over at Aleks, it’s something that’s both wry and tired in equal measure.

“I asked where you lived,” he says, and his voice is as gravelly as his eyes are exhausted, “and you sorta, like, mumbled some shit that I didn’t understand so I just grabbed your wallet and got it from your ID instead. I didn’t really know how to deal with… all of that,” and here he gestures at the wound on Aleks’ neck, “so I just… left you there, on your bed. Figured you wouldn’t die.”

“Oh,” Aleks says, because that’s a pretty fair assumption to make. “Yeah. I didn’t.”

Little Red hums thoughtfully, looks back towards the blank TV.

“Glad to see that,” he says, and rubs at his eyes with all of his fingers.

Aleks stays in the hallway, where it’s safe in its darkness, and watches as Little Red yawns hugely and then looks back over at him. His eyes sweep up and down, take in Aleks’ tattoos and the bit of pudge in his stomach, and then he just sniffs once like his nose is running. He’s still cross-legged, and Aleks watches as he rests his forearms on his knees. He’s got tattoos, too, red and yellow and black, vibrant against his tanned skin.

“Anyway,” he says softly, and there’s something in his eyes that Aleks can’t quite identify, “thanks for, uh, you know. Not… not killing me.”

The memories from the night before slam into him like a freight train, and Aleks almost staggers with it. Yeah. Right, of course. He got fucking cornered, and he hasn’t checked his phone since then so Gavin’s probably either blowing up his phone or he’s at the very least suspicious that Aleks hasn’t texted him a meme yet just to be a shit - and the sun is up, and here Aleks is, staring at the human sitting on his couch. Life’s fucked.

“Yeah,” Aleks says quietly, clears his throat. “Nah, dude, I’m not really about that life anymore. But, uh, yeah, no, thanks for - for you know. Going A-Rod on that guy that was trying to kill me. I appreciate it.”

Little Red hums again, and Aleks watches as he closes his eyes and then sways a little bit. He’s clearly tired, and for a moment Aleks isn’t sure why until reason catches up with him again. Yeah, he probably wouldn’t sleep either if he were stuck in the same place as a guy who almost got coerced into killing him. He still creeps in the hallway, but he moves a little closer until the sunlight at least lights him up a _little,_ and crosses his arms over his stomach. It hurts his neck.

“You can… you can go home, you know,” he says softly, unsure. “I mean, like, I’m not gonna… not gonna chase you down or anything. I’m, like, sort of a vegetarian or whatever you want to call it. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

He gets a glare, though there’s something troubled in Little Red’s eyes. He looks over at Aleks for a long moment, parts his lips like he’s not entirely certain whether he wants to speak his mind, and then he runs a hand down his face. His hands are pretty, and Aleks swallows and ignores that.

“I can’t,” he finally whispers quietly. “One of them - the police showed up, and one of them got away, and the way he _looked at me -_ “ He shudders, and he mirrors Aleks’ stance, crosses his arms over his stomach and looks away. “I can’t sleep, man. He’s gonna fuckin’ kill me if he gets his hands on me. I’m too scared to go out there.”

It’s a… pretty honest admission, one that Aleks wasn’t entirely expecting. Aleks stares at him for a long moment, and then abruptly turns on his heel, hurries back into his bedroom. It’s not hard to pull a hoodie from his closet and throw it on, keeps the hood pulled up as he heads back into the living room. The sun doesn’t sting as much, and he squints a little miserably at it before he draws the curtains enough that there’s still light, but so that it doesn’t hurt him, and then he sits carefully down on the couch.

“What’s your name?” he asks, delicate enough to make Gavin proud.

“...James,” comes the answer, after a few tense seconds of silence. “It’s James.”

“I know some of the most - most powerful vamps in this city, and they can keep you safe. _I_ can keep you safe, man,” Aleks says urgently, leaning in close. He owes it to this human who’s saved his life, and James looks over at him without turning his head. There are dark purple bags under his eyes, and Aleks continues. “Look, you did me a fuckin’ favor back there when you could’ve booked it. I owe you one. Let me make it up to you.”

James gives him an enormously tired grin, and it’s just a little bit sly.

“At least buy me dinner first, dude,” he says. “Don’t you know how to treat a guy?”

Aleks scoffs at him, but something softens between the two of them that he can’t quite put a name to. It’s… maybe a little bit friendly, or at the very least it’s something that Aleks can cup gently in his hands and keep as close as he can. He looks at James, and James looks at him. _My, what big eyes you have._

“I can take you out for dinner,” he says after a moment, “but it’ll have to be when it’s dark out.”

He gets an actual laugh for that one, and it brightens James’ face up considerably as he looks Aleks up and down. It’s nothing very critical, and James must like what he sees, because he rubs at his eyes again and says, “well then, consider it a date, I guess.”

Aleks doesn’t scoot closer, but he does lean in a bit.

“I’m Aleks,” he says, and flashes his teeth just a little, sharp and white. “Guess you got a guard dog now, James.”

James rolls his eyes.

“My real dog’s gonna fuckin’ love that,” he says under his breath, and Aleks watches as he rests his head against the back of the couch and falls asleep. Aleks watches, and as the blood thumps gently in James’ neck, Aleks goes to find his phone.

He’s got a couple of calls to make.


End file.
